The book focuses on a young crocodile who has had some difficult and negative experiences in his interactions with other animals, certain animals do not treat him kindly. Cleo then moves to a new swamp and has to learn to build new relationships with the new animals around him, which is hard after the negative experiences he has endured. But Cleo is brave and learns how to guage and understand his emotions in a way that will enable him to have happy and healthy relationships with others in the future.

I have mixed feelings about this book. This is a book wiith a great message for children as well as phenomenal activities to accompany it, but the story itself if very long and wordy and young readers will have a hard time keeping their concentration on the book long enough to actually benefit from the leason it is meant to impart. I believe that both very young children or children that have difficulties with processing would have a very hard time gaining any real meaning from the story since it is so word heavy and the emotions are sometimes portrayed in a slightly absract way.

This book also has a section just for the benefit of parents/adults working with children that have a trauma based background when it comes to building relationships and comprehending their emotions. This section is such an amazing addition because it will give you a firmer foundation and sense of security when entering into these difficult and often emotional conversations with children. Further this section enables you to have a deeper understanding for why a child may be acting the way they are and what these feelings are based in, therefore enabling you to enter into the situation with a more understanding and compassionate mindset so that the child feels safe and supported during this conversation. Simply looking through and practicing these worksheets with your child will be an exercise in trust and relationships for them so it is important to go into the situation prepared.

The activity section hosts a broad variety of activites and worksheets so that you may go through and choose which are best suited to the child and the situation at hand. From learning preemptive measures for the child to recognize when they are feeling unsafe/out of control/trapped/ect. to processing through the trajectory of their feelings after the fact. Even teaching them the correlation to how their feelings influence their actions. I can't express how amazing some of theseactivities are. I work in a classroom of young children on the autism spectrum and we utilize many similar activities and worksheets. Going through these activities as well as practicing and role playing these sorts of difficult situations with the child will be greatly beneficial to them leaning to utilize these skills on their own.

I was hoping to find this book a perfect fit and get a copy for the classroom, but I believe the story may be too wordy and require too much processing to be beneficial for the children that I work with. But I will definitely recommend it to the teacher of the ASD classroom that works with an older group of students and to the teacher of the social-emotional classroom. I think this book would be perfect for their students.

I don't believe the age range recommend for this book is wholly accurate either. I believe that the skills and message that the book is meant to teach is age appropriate, but I believe the language is a bit too wordy and at times a bit too abstract to be appropriate for children as young as five. The section for adults I think is beficial to a parent or guardian of any child of any age group that may be struggling with trauma and their emotions. The activites are age appropiate, however some of the cards breaking down the differents aspects of feelings like anger, sadness, worry, joy, ect. may require further processing or explaining before they can be utilized because some are a bit abstract or the wording colloquial.

They story itself is probably three stars but the activites deserve all five stars, so this averages out to four stars.

Many thanks to Jessica Kingsley Publishers. I was provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Developed by expert child psychologist Dr Karen Treisman, this beautifully illustrated children's book is designed to assist the caretakers of children who have survived traumatic events. The book starts out with a cute story of Cleo the Crocodile who lives in the swamp with many other critters, one of whom is his designated caretaker. His caretaker, Hogan the Hippo, treats him cruelly and bullies him in general when no one else is around to see. Cleo leaves his old swamp for a better life in a new one. However, in the new swamp, Cleo decides he won't get close to anyone else and that will protect him.

The story itself is charming and shows children that not everyone will treat them the same and that it's not necessary to always arm yourself 'just in case'. However, the real meat of the book is found in the activity sections. There's a section for caretakers (be they parent or psychologist) to help them choose the right activities for their traumatized child. Using the whole book isn't necessary. It's designed to used different activities for different children, as the situation warrants.

I found this a well thought out book that offers hope for both the traumatized children and the people trying to help them overcome trauma. #CleoTheCrocodileActivityBookForChildrenWhoAreAfraidToGetClose #NetGalley

I have very mixed feelings about this book. For one the story is way too long and the language in it is a little too complicated for children with run-on sentences. I expect that the children will lose their concentration quickly. I certainly did. However, the activity sheets included were excellent. I find that if this story was tightened up then this would be a five-star read.

Honestly, <i>Cleo the Crocodile</i> by Karen Treisman was shocking to me. In many ways, I wasn't quite sure how to handle myself after I'd finished reading it. The book touches on child abuse in ways that I was not expecting and the fact that it broaches the subject at all with a young audience in mind makes this one a first for me. I'm sure there are other books out there that approach this topic, but I have not read them in this context. It both saddens and warms my heart to know that this book is out there and available to readers who may need it because it's an important resource for those children, but it bothers me that it is a resource children may need in the first place.

I deeply appreciate this book for what it offers. The many activities scattered within the last few pages are so beneficial in my opinion and I'm exceedingly glad that the book does not simply end with the powerful story of Cleo's. While this is certainly an emotional read and I'm not one hundred percent sure that I would give it to a child who has not suffered abuse--though, to be frank, I think there's a possibility that it could be beneficial to all--I do see it as incredibly helpful for those who need it.

Definitely a book to pick up and consider carefully, <i>Cleo the Crocodile </i>is one of those amazing books that really strives to bring forth important conversation and discussion about topics that many would rather avoid. I hope this book helps a lot of kids in these unfortunate situations. I can see it helping a number of age ranges, though some only in the event that an adult is helping them through the activities and in understanding the story.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

While this book looks like just another children's story/activity book it certainly is not. This one is meant to be a resource for children, mental health professionals and others who are tasked with helping youngsters who have experienced significant trauma. The story of Cleo is told from the point of view of animals so as to allow children to listen without having to initially claim the story as their own.

Cleo has had painful experiences but they are all that Cleo has known; change, even if it might be for the better, is scary. Children hearing the story will see that it takes Cleo a long time to trust but that, eventually, things get better. This book then has a series of guided activities that children and their trusted adults can work on together and at their own pace.

This resource will be welcomed by social workers, foster carers, therapists and others who work with children who are trying to cope with their difficult histories.

This activity book includes a story, activities for children, and a guide for adults.

Treisman's story, The Story of Cleo the Crocodile, is an exceptionally told tale of a young crocodile who is left in the care of a bully. The old crocodile is not always a bully, but he is getting meaner by the day and often hurts Cleo's feelings. Cleo is so hurt that he withdraws from his friends and becomes angry. Once he tells his friends what was happening, other adults stepped in to try to help Cleo. They decided that maybe it was best if Cleo went to live in another nearby swamp, where he could be safe and wouldn't be hurt anymore. Once there, though, Cleo was scared. Everything was new and his friends were not there to help him and he became very angry and started lashing out at everyone and everything around him so that he could never be hurt again. Thankfully, a very nice hippo and crocodile were there to show him kindness and patience. They understood he was just hurt, and not mean. As time passed, Cleo relaxed and understood the new swamp was safe and new friends could be just as nice as old ones.

I really enjoyed the illustrations as they brought the story to life and was inclusive through subtle ways that make the story applicable to all readers who have ever been picked on or bullied.

The children's activities are very cute and range from word search and coloring to crafts and other activities to encourage interaction with others.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.